The University of Texas System Invests $10 Million in MyEdu to Improve Graduation Rates and Lower College Costs

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MyEdu, the nation's leading student academic platform for completing college, announced today that it has partnered with the University of Texas System (UT System) to provide an enhanced student academic platform, helping students across UT System institutions to significantly increase their return on education by raising graduation rates, decreasing time to graduation and supporting career readiness goals. As part of the partnership, the UT System is making a $10 million investment in MyEdu, which is already used by millions of students on more than 800 campuses across the country.

"The current graduation rates in our country must be improved for what is a significant investment for students, their families and our nation," said Michael Crosno, founder, CEO and Chairman of MyEdu. "Our mission is to improve graduation rates, and our collaboration with UT -- one of the nation's largest and most-respected systems -- will allow us to provide its more than 200,000 students the technological tools to help them get a college degree in less time and embark on a successful career. The UT System should be applauded for its commitment and innovative approach to tackling some of the most important obstacles facing students."

"Each student that is part of the UT system has a unique circumstance and individual hurdles to meet his or her specific academic goals. With millions of choices across degree programs and class schedules at each institution, college planning can be very complex," said Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D. "Our investment in MyEdu's academic platform will augment the efforts of our talented academic advisers and faculty, who work diligently with students and families to map out a successful path to graduation. MyEdu will help our students graduate in less time and significantly reduce their overall cost of education. The UT System is pleased to partner with MyEdu in this important endeavor as we strive to continually improve and better serve our students and their families."

Nationwide, only 56 percent of students are graduating within six years with percentages lower for part-time students, community college students, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. With free easy-to-use degree planning, credit management, workload tracking and social applications specifically designed around students' needs, MyEdu brings together students, parents, advisers and faculty to help students manage their academic career. Additionally, MyEdu enables students to significantly lower their education costs by avoiding additional semesters and reducing textbook purchases and living expenses. By shortening the time to graduation, MyEdu tools will increase students' earning potential by allowing them to enter the workforce sooner.  

With the support of the UT System and its leadership in representing the needs of UT students, faculty and advisers, MyEdu will be able to extend its platform with enhanced functionality, including:

• Degree Planner and Adviser to help students confidently evaluate and plan their degrees with their families and advisers using official campus information. High school students also may compare degree plans between universities to determine which institution best suits their needs  
• Graduation Roadmap enabling students to visualize their timeline to graduation, minimizing planning mistakes that leave students extending time in college to complete required courses
• Schedule Planner integrating MyEdu's tools with official campus systems to help students with class evaluation and selection based on their preferences, schedules and class availability
• Credit Management System to see the impact of AP and other pre-existing credits and options for achieving transferable credits from other campuses, community colleges, or online classes
• Student-Faculty Workspace to provide a social, highly interactive workspace to increase student-to-student and student-to-faculty collaboration
• College Financial Planner to calculate the financial impact of academic decisions such as choosing schools, selecting and changing majors, and using existing credits, all of which can be explored while the student is still in high school

For more information, please visit www.MyEdu.com or our blog at www.myedu.com/blog.  

About MyEdu

Founded in 2008, MyEdu is the nation's leading student academic platform for completing college. MyEdu's degree planning, credit management, workload tracking and social applications bring together students, parents, advisers and faculty to reduce the amount of time it takes to earn a degree. Providing millions of students across the country with the tools and confidence to graduate in less time and compete for careers in the global economy, MyEdu allows students to significantly increase their return on education by reducing all of their associated costs. To date, MyEdu has helped more than three million students succeed in college. Its investors include Bain Capital Ventures and the University of Texas System.  To learn more, please visit www.myedu.com.

About The University of Texas System

The University of Texas System is one of the nation's largest higher education systems, with nine academic campuses and six health institutions. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $13.1 billion (FY 2012) including $2.3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. Preliminary student enrollment exceeded 215,000 in the 2011 academic year. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates nearly three-fourths of the state's health care professionals annually. With roughly 87,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state. For more information, visit www.utsystem.edu.

Media Contact:
Emily Peck
Kwittken & Company
(646) 747-7149
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SOURCE MyEdu